Who Needs Swords When You Have Fire?
by hahayes
Summary: The boy that would eventually become Shirou Emiya was 'luckier' this time. He happened to be in the streets by the time of Fuyuki Fire, thus evading injuries that his alternative selves mostly didn't. But Angra Mainyu saw this, and he decided to play with the boy. Everything about Shirou Emiya was changed thanks to All The Evils In The World, making him almost unrecognizable.
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Fate/Stay Night and any related series belongs to Kinoko Nasu, Type-Moon and/or their respective owners. I don't gain anything from the following text

 _Who Needs Swords When You Have Fire?_

 _Prologue_

It was all his fault. Kiritsugu Emiya thought that destroying the "Holy" Grail everything would be fixed. He didn't know how or why, but at some point the Grail have been cursed by a Dark God's soul, especially Angra Mainyu's, an ancient Persian God.

However, little did he know that it truly wasn't the Dark God, but just a poor man from a village that have been chosen randomly to be the embodiment of All The Evils In The World. He knew no other thing, as he forgot how his life used to be before being kidnapped and tortured constantly.

It wasn't like he wanted to be evil, but he had no other choice.

That's why just after Kiritsugu ordered to his Servant to destroy the Grail, Angra Mainyu started laughing. Why, you may ask? That was because they destroyed the Lesser Grail, but the Greater Grail under the mountains was left untouched.

During his laugh, Angra Mainyu released a fire. Not any fire, but one that carried all of his curses and had more prana in it than anything that a modern Magus would be able to do.

In fact, most likely nobody would be able to survive it.

Nobody except the boy who was destined to doing it. Who no matter in which timeline you were, he will always find the way to survive. Being saved by a broken Magus, a twisted Executor or a Golden King, someone always found him.

This time wasn't that different, but the kid happened to be...Luckier, if you want to put in that way, though I wouldn't say so. He happened to be walking in the street, a particular street which the fire for some reason didn't reach with its full might. And thus, his injuries weren't that serious compared to most of his counterparts.

Then, why wouldn't I consider him lucky, you ask me? Because the tainted Grail isn't something to leave things at chance.

Angra Mainyu, at seeing this, decided to play a little with the boy. Sending all of its curses at him, a twisted black... _thing_ enveloped the boy.

And, oh man, how it hurt.

Pain flowed through the boy's body, making parts of his body that he didn't even know that were there to hurt. Ironically, there wasn't any physical harm, it was all Angra Mainyu playing with the boy's nerves to see how much he could last.

That's when the boy caught Angra Mainyu's attention. No matter how much pain it made him feel, he didn't scream nor twist in pain. It was quite unnerving, even to the embodiment of All The Evils In The World. As he had claimed that nobody except certain dog and _that_ spider were better than him at killing humans, Angra Mainyu felt quite irritated at that sight.

After all, the boy found a way to keep walking even taking into account the pain. Unknown to Angra Mainyu, the young boy kept discarding little by little all of his emotions and feelings, only leaving untouched his will to live.

Fear, sadness, happiness, remorse, excitement, even _hope._ He lost all of those that could be called human basic emotions.

He was nothing more of an automaton, a living corpse, right now.

He walked and walked, until his feet just couldn't endure it anymore and he fell, his mouth practically kissing the ground, burning his head with some stray flames. He did not care. He couldn't feel the pain that would be an indicator in that his legs just couldn't walk anymore, or rather, he just couldn't acknowledge it. He wanted to live that badly.

 _'You truly don't want to die here, huh?'_ A distorted voice sounded inside the kid's head. _'Very well, I'll ask you something then. If you provide me with entertainment as long as you live, I'll spare your life in this occasion. What do you say?'_

He didn't even think about how he was probably going crazy as he just nodded his head. He didn't care if this voice in his head was just his imagination, if there was the small chance of it being something else that could actually save him...He would take it, no matter the price to pay. Was he truly in the right mind?

 _'Haha! I knew it! Oh, this is going to be so funny!'_ The voice sounded inside his mind again, this time pure amusement could be sensed in it. That's when Angra Mainyu caught sight of _him_.

A man with messy black hair and even darker eyes was walking through the hell, looking for a survivor.

 _'Hmm, should I let him 'save' you?'_ The voice pronounced the word 'save' with obvious sarcasm. _'Fuck it, why not?'_ The boy could literally _feel_ the voice shrugging while those words were pronounced.

 _'By the way, you can call me Avenger'_

As Avenger spoke, the boy felt as the pain stopped, giving him full control of control of his legs once more. Well, 'full' wasn't the exact way to describe it, as he could barely move.

But it was enough.

Using all of his strength, the boy stood on his feet once more. This action didn't go unnoticed to the black haired man, who ran towards the kid, tears forming in the corner of his eyes.

The man caught the boy in his arms, muttering "Thank you" time and time again, an smile which expressed as much happiness as humanly possible formed on the man's lips. It was almost as if he was the one who had been saved.

 _'Why?'_ The boy thought. Was this man smiling because of him? Why would he do that? He hadn't done anything to gain such a reaction, all he did was trying to survive, letting everyone die around himself.

And yet, the boy couldn't bring himself to regret it. He wanted to live, why should he care about other's lives? Why wanted this man to save someone so badly? He just couldn't understand it.

Looking at the man's face with a confused look, a thought propped inside his mind. _'Why does he smile like that? Could I ever be so happy?'_

 _'Nope, you won't. You know, with having a demon stuck in your mind and all that stuff I don't think that you are going to be happy anytime soon.'_ Avenger's voice echoed in his mind, mockery was present in his tone. _'Oh, this is going to be so funny!'_

It was quite unnerving, how someone could think of the suffering of a child as 'Funny'. Granted, for some reason he was called 'Angra Mainyu'. You don't exactly gain the name of a demon doing selfless acts and giving money to the poor, after all.

The man continued saying "Thank you" time and time again until he realized that the boy was staring at him, and how stupid he may have looked.

Coughing in his hand and cleaning the tears in his eyes, the man spoke to the boy.

"What's your name?" He had said.

"Shirou," The boy answered after a few moments, as if trying to remember something distant.

"Well, Shirou-kun, I'm Kiritsugu. Can you walk on your own?" Shirou just nodded.

"...Follow me. I'm going to take you to the nearest hospital, okay?" Shirou nodded again, not truly paying much attention to the man in front of him.

 _(Scene Break)_

 _I remember that face._

 _It was a man._

 _Tears in his eyes._

 _And joy in his heart, at finding someone alive._

 _He seemed so happy._

 _...But I never understood him._

 _Why would the man be so grateful?_

 _What was so great in saving someone?_

 _I never understood my father, and I probably never will._

 _(Scene Break)_

The hospital was a mess. Doctors and nurses were running from one point to the other, moving stretchers with people on them. Not even one of them was going to survive.

Those persons were the few that could be taken out of the fire, but it was too late for them. Modern medicine had no way to heal Angra Mainyu's curses. One would need an incredibly skilled spiritual doctor or a powerful artifact like Avalon, King Arthur's sheath, to heal them.

Shirou and Kiritsugu made their way to the receptionist. While Shirou didn't have any visible wound and he didn't seem to have been touched by the dangerous curses, Kiritsugu wanted to be sure that the boy wasn't in any danger. He would have given Avalon to Shirou, but Kiritsugu didn't know how much _he_ would survive without it.

Avalon was the only thing that kept Kiritsugu alive by this point, Angra Mainyu's curse made its way in all his system, killing him little by little. He could feel how Avalon was healing him immediately afterwards, but the little of Saber's prana that remained into it wasn't enough to fully heal him.

In the best case scenario it was barely slowing the process of his death.

"Excuse me," Kiritsugu spoke to the receptionist. "I would like to see a doctor."

"Sir, please understand that we are busy right now, if it isn't urgent please come back tomorrow." The receptionist replied in a dismissive yet polite tone. She seemed to be tired.

"That child," Kiritsugu signaled to Shirou, who had been waiting behind him, his eyes unfocused. "Had been _there_ until a few minutes ago."

"Oh my God," The receptionist looked at the boy, her tone had changed to one full of concern and pity. "Please wait here, a doctor will come soon."

Kiritsugu nodded and the receptionist dissappeared at the end of the corridor, running in search of a doctor.

 _(Scene Break)_

Several minutes passed.

A group of doctors, alongside a few nurses arrived to where Kiritsugu and Shirou were waiting.

Kiritsugu explained how he found Shirou and brought him to the hospital as soon as possible, while Shirou denied to talk with anybody, his eyes were still unfocused.

At first, the doctors thought that he could be having some kind of brain damage, but then Kiritsugu explained how Shirou could talk perfectly, as he did before, but for some reason he now was refusing to do so.

Everyone was relieved at hearing that.

After several checks, the doctors confirmed that Shirou's injuries were little to none. The most serious things that he had were a burn in his back and in his face, the two would leave rather big scars but nothing serious, and some smoke in his lungs.

That's when Kiritsugu just realized that Shirou's face had a burn all over it. He wasn't one to miss details, much less one as big as _that_ , but his mind only had one thought when he found Shirou.

 _Save the boy._

In his haste to save him, Kiritsugu didn't notice such a thing. And what's worse, were it something grave and Shirou might have been injured badly just because of him.

No, there was no point in crying over the spilled milk. He should focus in something else. For example...

How did Shirou burn his back if his clothes weren't burned? Nobody could explain that, and Shirou's loss of memory wasn't helping.

He could remember absolutely nothing prior the fire aside from his name, 'Shirou'. There was no family name that the boy remembered, he couldn't even recall his parents.

It had to be sad, to not remember even your own mother. But, to Shirou, it wasn't sad at all. After all, he discarded his emotions in the fire, how could he feel sad?

In the end, he felt absolutely nothing about losing his memories. Nor happiness nor sadness.

 _Just a void._

 _(Scene Break)_

Several days have passed until the doctors let him go, while he didn't have any serious injuries they wanted to make sure that everything was okay.

Every single one of those days, Kiritsugu visited the boy. Despite all of his tries, Shirou didn't talk much with him. In fact, only today, the day that he was given permission to leave the hospital, the boy spoke.

"With you?..." He had said. The man in front of him had just asked him if he wanted to go with him, or be sent to an orphanage. Avenger was telling him to go with the man, but why? Should he listen to the voice in his head?

Yes, he should. The man seemed friendly, and Avenger was rather insistent about it.

"Yes..." Shirou finally said after some moments of thinking, signaling at Kiritsugu with his finger.

The man smiled.

"Very well, wait for me as I go to make it official. I already talked about it with the doctors and they thought that it was for the best," Kiritsugu got up from his chair in front of the boy's bed. "By the way, I'm a Magus." And then he leaved, leaving Shirou alone with his thoughts...

...Well, with his thoughts and the guy stuck in his head.

 ** _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_**

 ** _AN:_** Yep, as I promised I re-wrote this. You might ask, why now?

Well, that's easy to respond.

You see, my first fic, 'With Wings And A Mind Of Steel' was just something that came to my mind and I decided to write it...But it wasn't going anywhere.

I mean, I had a few ideas for the plot but it just sucked, I didn't know what to do with it. So I deleted it.

Don't worry, it won't happen with any other of my active fics, including this one. I have solid plans for all of them, somethings may change but the skeleton of the plot is there, and with my first fic it wasn't.

If someone who had read it liked it and wish to continue it, PM me, I will yell you what I had thought for the plot and give you a copy of what I've written, so you can continue it on your own.

And what does all this mean?

That this one will be one of my active fics.

You know how it works. I update one after the other of the three, the next one being updated will be 'The Second Magus Killer', as the previous one was 'The Crimson Saber'.

Don't much more to say. This chapter is shorter than its first version but I think that it's much better, so I'll leave it at that for today.

I appreciate all the criticism as long as it isn't a pointless flame, by the way. And I'm seriously needing a Beta, I already know that.

See ya guys!


	2. Weird Meetings And Teachings

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Fate/Stay Night and any related series belongs to Kinoko Nasu, Type-Moon and/or their respective owners. I don't gain anything from the following text

 _(Rating have been changed to M because language and violence. It's a Holy Grail War, and Avenger is one of the main characters. What were you expecting?_ )

 _Who Needs Swords When You Have Fire?_

 _Chapter One:_ _Weird Meetings And Teachings_

Shirou rested on his bed in the Emiya household. It was three in the morning. He woke up at that hour, as usal. Since he could remember, he dreamed about that night. The night he had lost everything.

However, for some reason he couldn't find what someone else would consider a 'nightmare' as something bad. His dream was different enough from what actually happened, in fact. For example, in his dream instead of walking through the fire, the flames enveloped him, but didn't burn him. He felt a sensation of warm, a comfortable one. Furthermore, the sounds in the background were different.

Instead of hearing the screams of the damned, what could be listened was Avenger laughing non-stop. Or was it Shirou himself? He couldn't tell. The voice was like some weird mix of both of them's ones. And, he couldn't help but find that laugh somewhat _good_ , as if that sound felt oddly _right_ to him.

Truth being told, it was a very relaxing dream for Shirou's criteria. Sadly, that didn't stop it for him waking up at such hours.

 _'You okay, kid?'_ Avenger voice asked from inside him mind. While he didn't recognize it, with the passing of time Avenger came to develop a liking in the redhead boy.

 _'Yeah, nothing serious. Just that dream again.'_

 _'Hmm, have you been considering in asking the Magus about that? Heck, will you ever tell him to teach you something? It's so boring here!'_

 _'Shut up Avenger, I'll ask him when I want to.'_

 _'Aww! That ain't funny Shirou! I merged our souls to have fun, not to see a normal kid's everyday life!'_

 _'Agh, just leave me in peace, okay?'_

 _'Only if you ask him to teach you Magecraft tomorrow.'_ Avenger replied in a playful tone.

Shirou sighed. There was no way to win in an argument with Avenger. That guy was obsessed in making his life insane.

 _'Okay, okay! Just shut up, you fun obsessed bastard!'_

 _'Good.'_

Shirou sighed once more. There was no point in trying to sleep once more. He made his way to the house's dojo, to do his everyday routine.

After several exercises, Shirou noticed that the sun was rising. He had spent more than two hours in the dojo. He made his way to the kitchen, deciding that it was time to start cooking breakfast.

While he had a talent in cooking, he never liked it. Why was that? One of the reasons certainly was the Heroic Spirit stuck inside his head. Avenger enjoyed teasing him in how he was no different than a housewife, and thus making Shirou dislike the act of cooking because Avenger just wouldn't _shut_ _the fuck up_ while he was doing it.

Shirou then proceeded to go to his father's room. Lately Kiritsugu was waking up later than usal, and Shirou had no clue of why was that. He didn't ask, as far as he cared Kiritsugu could do whatever he wanted.

He knocked his old man's door.

No one answered.

At the lack of response Shirou knocked once more, and when no sign of Kiritsugu waking up was presented, Shirou entered.

His father lay asleep in his futon, clear signs of pain on his face.

Not flinching in the slightest, Shirou made his way to his father's side. He patted the man's head.

"Oi, old man, wake up. Breakfast is ready and the Tiger will be arriving soon." He shaked the black haired man's sleeping body.

"Huh?" Kiritsugu slowly opened his eyes. He rubbed his ocular organs, and smiled at the boy at his side. "Is it that late already?"

Shirou nodded.

Kiritsugu's response was a sigh.

"I'll be going soon, you just go ahead and start eating if Taiga arrives faster than I." The man said with a tired look on his eyes.

"Whatever you say, dad." Shirou took his leave from the room.

Kiritsugu stood alone, putting a hand on his face the man sighed. Angra Mainyu's curse had become stronger and stronger since the day he adopted Shirou two years ago. He gave himself four years more at much, and that was just him hoping. For all he knew he could die next week.

The man got on his feet. He made his way to the bathroom, washed his face and then went to the living room. There were Taiga Fujimura, his friend's granddaughter, and Shirou, serving the breakfast.

"Good morning!~" The Yakuza Princess said from her sit.

"Good morning to you too, Taiga." Kiritsugu waved his hand in a gesture of 'hello'.

"Now, dad take your sit. Breakfast is ready." Kiritsugu did as his son told him to do.

Were for either Shirou or Kiritsugu they would have ate in silence, but Taiga wasn't one to stay quiet for more than three minutes without a good reason, so they had a rather lively breakfast.

"I'll have to go to school now. See you all in dinner!" Taiga rushed out of the house, in direction to Homurahara Academy, where she was an student.

Shirou deadpanned. "One day, she's going to trip and get injured if she continues running like that. Remember my words, dad."

Kiritsugu chuckled. "I'm not looking forward to it."

"So, Shirou-"

"So, dad-"

They both said at the same time, and Kiritsugu chuckled a bit more. "Go ahead son, what did you want to ask?"

"Err, yes. I wanted to ask, will you teach me Magecraft anytime soon?"

Kiritsugu sighed. This thing again. In the past Shirou had asked him to teach him Magecraft, but at his father's refusal to do so Shirou stopped asking...Only to ask once more a few months later. He wasn't going to give up in that, wasn't he?...

...Still, Kiritsugu didn't want for Shirou to get involved in the world of Magi. He just hoped for a normal life to the boy, so he decided to refuse once more.

"Maybe another time, Shirou."

Shirou nodded, not apparently caring in the slightest to his father's response.

"I'll be going, then. School will start soon." Shirou picked up the lunchbox he had cooked alongside his breakfast and waved his left hand at Kiritsugu, leaving the house in direction to his school.

In his way, he talked a bit with Avenger about the new anime they saw in T.V the past day.

 _'So, basically it's about a kid who wants to be a supreme ninja or some shit like that, the Author using asspulls whenever he wants, and nonsense power-ups...Kiddo, we seriously need to check other channels. We've seen at least ten animes before where the plot is pretty much the same. Is this what people call cliché?'_

 _'I'm not sure if I'm understanding what you're talking about, Avenger.'_

 _'Of course you don't. Tch, you kids need some sense of criticism.'_

 _'Whatever you say...'_ And then Shirou proceed to keep walking while ignoring Avenger bitching about how the Anime Industry was going to hell, or something like that.

 _'Are you ignoring me? Hey, are you ignoring me? Pay attention Shirou damn it!'_ The voice in his head kept like that for almost twenty minutes.

Avenger _seriously_ didn't like being ignored.

 _(Scene Break)_

Already in school, Shirou made his way to his class. Only that, in the middle of his walk, something caught his attention.

It was a girl, probably around his age. She had blue eyes and black hair stylized in twintails, tied with two black ribbons. She weared the standard school uniform for girls. However, her appearance wasn't what stuck Shirou the most.

It was how his instincts screamed at him to kill her, that she was too dangerous to be kept alive. Shirou followed her from afar, unable to repulse this sudden murderous intent, until they were in a relatively detached place. A corner where nobody was looking, she for some reason stopped there.

Perfect.

He opened his lunchbox and picked up the knife he had brought inside of it. He would have western food, so the knife would have been necessary for eating. However, now it had more immediate issues to attend.

He walked, carefully making sure that he wasn't making too much sound. He raised his knife. Then, he moved it down with as much speed as he could and--

\--She turned her back and grabbed his arm, stopping the knife in midway.

"Tch!" Shirou applied as much strength as he could, but for some reason couldn't break her grab.

 _'Need some help?'_ Avenger asked inside his mind, an amused tone could be perceived in his words.

 _'No, what do you think?'_ Shirou replied sarcastically, channeling his inner bastard. Avenger deserved it. _'Of course I need help! Any idea of what can I do?!'_

 _'Oh, just leave it to me.'_

Shirou felt as _something_ had waken inside of him, and his whole body somehow felt stronger than before. Using all the strength he could channel, he broke her grab.

 _'What did you do?'_

 _'Who knows?~'_

The whole sequence only lasted two seconds, as if when speaking to Avenger time slowed down considerably.

"Oh, so you're Magus? It makes sense, since you trasspassed the Bounded Field without any apparent issue, and no normal human could hope to overwhelm my Reinforcement," The girl spoke, walking around him with a scary smile. "But that opens a new can of worms," Her smile dropped and a frown appeared on her face. "Who are you?"

"Heh, why should I tell you?" Shirou smirked.

"Because if you don't, I'll report you to the Clock Tower. I'm the Second Owner of this place, you know?"

"Wait, how the heck is a tower in England related to some girl who apparently is the 'Second Owner' of my school?" Shirou asked, tilting his head to the side. A confused look on his face.

"...Are you stupid or something?"

 _'She nailed it.'_ Obviously, courtesy of Avenger.

"Well..."

"Oh you have to be kidding," The girl face-palmed, a resigned look appeared on her features. "You're being serious, aren't you? You're a Magus and you don't know about the Mage's Association...Look, what's your name?"

"Shirou Emiya."

"Good, Emiya-kun, I'm Rin Tohsaka. So you don't know what the Association is?" At his nod she sighed and continued. "Have you at least been properly trained in Magecraft?"

"Errr, no. My dad didn't teach me anything."

"...And how did you avoid the Bounded Field and escaped from my reinforced arm?"

Shirou shrugged.

Avenger smirked.

Rin sighed.

"I have a lot to explain..." She then explained to the boy the whole concept of the Mage's Association, and at his lack of knowledge about the Church she sighed (Again) and also explained that to the ignorant boy.

"So, you didn't know anything of this, you're not a Magus, and yet you're somehow stronger than I using Reinforcement and your Magic Resistance is big enough for you to avoid the disinterest Bounded Field. And why did you exactly tried to kill me?"

"...My instincts told me to."

"Your...Instincts..." He didn't seem to lie with that. "Agh! Why is everything about you so confusing?!"

"Hey, don't scream like that! Someone is going to hear us!"

"The Bounded Field keeps them from doing it, idiot!"

"Oh..."

"Anyway, this we'll be much easy if you follow me. Now we'll go to-" But she was cut as the bell sounded, signaling the change of period.

"I think we've been talking for a lot." Shirou deadpanned.

"Damn! I have to go, look for me after school Emiya-kun!"

 _'And there goes your future girlfriend...'_

 _'Wait, what?!'_

 _'Kid, we've seen enough anime together to know how this shit is going to end. Just wait for it, in a few years she'll be crying for your babies...Now that I think about it, why does your after even let you watch that kind of things on T.V?...Not like I mind, anyway.'_

 _'Avenger, real life doesn't work like an anime.'_

 _'Your proof? In what we call 'the real world' a lot of Magi drink tea in a weird tower, priests hunt alien vampires from the moon, an old man who is obsessed with pranks can travel between dimensions...What's the difference between this and an anime?'_

 _'...Fair point.'_

 _'You should be going to your class right now, by the way. If not the Tiger is going to kill you.'_

 _'Damn you're right!'_

 _(Scene Break)_

"Why do I feel this sudden impulse to beat Shirou with a Shinai?" Taiga asked to herself.

 _(Scene Break)_

Aside from being scolded by the teacher, nothing really happened after that in school. As promised, he looked for Rin after classes had ended. He found her inside a classroom.

"Rin-chan, can you help me with my homework?" A girl who Shirou didn't know nor had any intentions in doing so spoke to Shirou's 'future girlfriend' (Avenger's words, not his).

"Sorry, but now I can't. I have something to do," Rin gave her an apologetic smile. "Maybe next time, okay?"

The other girl nodded, albeit a little sad, as far as Shirou could tell.

Rin leaved in the direction to the classroom's door, when Shirou was waiting for her.

"So, where did you want to take me to?" Shirou asked, and Rin blushed at that. Shirou, as the oblivious bastard he was, didn't notice such an obvious reason for she to react like that. "Are you sick?"

"I-i-idiot!" She blushed even deeper when everyone looked in their direction.

"You okay? No, really, if you're sick we can do it other day," Her face continued going even more red, to the point that from afar she wouldn't be that different from a tomato.

 _'How can he ask such questions?! Doesn't he understand that it can be misunderstood so easily?!'_ Those were some of the thoughts going on inside her head.

"Tohsaka? T-O-H-S-A-K-A? Planet Earth talking to Tohsaka." He waved his hand in front of her face, and that's when she realized that she had spaced out. That was also when Shirou started worrying seriously about her health, as the red in her face just _wasn't_ normal.

"Nah, you know what? Just do it tomorrow, you're obviously sick and we won't be able to do anything with you like that. Do you want me to take you to the infirmary?"

"N-n-n-no." She managed to say that despite how embarrassed she felt at that moment. Having every single kid in the corridor staring at them wasn't helping.

"Okay then." Shirou then turned his back to her and leaved, just like that.

 _'...Who the heck is this guy?'_ That was the only thought in Rin's mind as she watched the redhead go.

Nothing particularly interesting happened in the rest of the day, at least to those two.

However, there was an old man who was busy with his own things in a particular basement.

In his house, Zolgen Makiri, better known as Zouken Matou, watched through his worm Familiars a particular kid. He had red hair and golden eyes, and was running through the streets. To most people he would seem to be just a normal child, but Zouken knew better.

That boy carried a piece of _it._ Just like his own experiment, though there seemed to be differences between the two. The precense of Angra Mainyu in the boy felt much less...aggressive, for lack of better term, almost as if it was okay with the boy doing whatever he wanted.

Perhaps Angra Mainyu took a liking in the boy? While unlikely, it was still a possibility. Or maybe they had some kind of agreement? Whatever it was, the boy represent a threat for his plan.

So, he sent his most... _hungry_ worms to salute the boy. If he could take him down now Zouken would be spared of countless headaches.

 _(Scene Break)_

Shirou went in the direction of his house, only to freeze at a moment's notice.

 _'...You felt it too, lad?'_

 _'That someone is following us? Yeah, what should we do?'_ Shirou said as he moved to an isolated alley.

 _'Do you remember what I did earlier for you to escape from the Tohsaka girl?'_ Shirou nodded, despite Avenger being inside his head and how stupid that may had been. _'What I did was opening your Magic Circuits temporally, and force you to channel Magical Energy through your body, thus making a very risky and shitty reinforcement. However, something that I wasn't expecting happened. When I opened your Circuits I felt as a part of my power was drained, as you virtually stole my powers._

 _'Granted, when I closed your Magic Circuits they came back, but that doesn't change the fact that it happened. So, I'll do it once more and hope for the best. You ready?'_

 _'...I didn't understand half of the things you said, but I get that whatever you're about to do will make me more powerful. If that's the case then, do it.'_

 _'You called for it!'_ Shirou felt the same sensation of before, only that this time it was much stronger, almost painful, but he could bear it.

A thing that could only be called a _mass of darkness_ formed on Shirou's hands. He didn't know it at that time, but in that bunch of darkness was the materialized form of All The Evils of The World.

Wraith, self-loathing, gluttony, misfortune, despair, fear, hunger, illness, tragedy, death and much more curses were present on it. Or rather, _could_ be present on it. The one in his hands was just a weakened version of misfortune, nothing serious. He couldn't hope to get something better at that moment.

He waited, until he saw who his stalker was. A fourty centimeters tall white worm, which moved fast to him.

Shirou didn't wait.

He threw the curse to it, and when it did, the worm tripped. Such was the nature of the misfortune curse, and to make things worse to the worm, it fell right into a rake, being impaled by it.

 _'Wait...Since when can I do that?'_ Avenger asked inside his mind.

 _'Don't know and don't care. That was amazing!'_

 _'Well yeah, but I'll be closing your Circuits now. If you died because I left them open I would feel really stupid.'_

Shirou felt as the sudden power he had gained disappeared, making him feel weak again.

 _'Now you should truly be going to your house. Seriously, the Tiger won't be in a good mood if she ever finds all the shit that happened today.'_

 _(Scene Break)_

"I'm seriously starting to worry about this...why do I want to punch Shirou so badly?" Taiga kept asking to herself.

 _(Scene Break)_

Zouken saw as the boy stopped. With determination on his face, the boy moved to an isolated alley. Zouken didn't have any problem with that, if he was planning to kill the redhead then this would only play on his favor.

At the same time he made his worm go to attack the boy, something formed on the kid's hands. It was low-level curse, for what Zouken could tell, but that wasn't what caught the old man's attention. It was that the boy didn't chant nothing to call forth it.

He released the curse in the direction of the Makiri's Familiar, and when it hit, the worm _tripped_ and fell right into a rake that _happened_ to be there, being impaled and by consequence, die.

What was that? He had never seen such a thing before. Maybe this kid was much more valuable than he had initially thought? Perhaps. He couldn't deny that. Should him let the boy live? Yes, he should. He couldn't tell to which extent the boy's powers reached, if he happened to have an ability that _could_ kill Zouken then being in his bad side would be a bad idea.

Yes, he should. Maybe he could use him in his plans...Hmm, yes, that would work. The problem was, how could him get in the kid's good side? No, there wasn't a need of that. His experiment, yes, that could work. If he could make each other bond, then when he would be faced with her condition, if he wanted to help her the only way would be also helping Zouken.

The old Makiri stared laughing. It seemed that a very good pawn had entered the scene.

 _(Scene Break)_

Already in his house, Shirou went right to Kiritsugu's room, looking for his father. He knocked the door. No one answered. He opened it, and found that nobody was there.

Sighing, he checked all the rooms in the house, in search of his father. He wasn't in the living room, nor in the kitchen, bathroom or any of the bedrooms of the main house.

He then decided to search in the courtyard. Nobody could be seen there. When Shirou was actually starting to worry about his father, he heard something.

"...Alright, I think that Shirou will like this." The voice came from inside the old shed which was in the middle of the courtyard.

Curious, Shirou approached the shed. Making sure that he wasn't making too much sound, he put a hand and an ear on the shed's door. However, the voice had stopped. So, what did Shirou do? He opened the door.

Inside could be seen the form of his adoptive father, kneeled and a sword on his hands. While Shirou was no expert in the supernatural, he could tell that there was something _off_ about the sword. As if it was radiating _something_ that it shouldn't be doing.

There was nothing special about the sword, as far as Shirou could tell. It was just a normal katana, made of probably steel.

"Dad?" Shirou asked, confused.

"Ah, it seems that you discovered it," Kiritsugu scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly. "It was supposed to be your birthday present."

 _'Oh right, tomorrow was your birthday, wasn't it?'_

 _Would you believe me if I told you that I didn't remember it, Avenger?'_

 _'You didn't remember your own birthday?...That's sad.'_

"Supposed to?"

"Ah yes, as you've already seen it what's the point in waiting for tomorrow? Come on, pick it up already." Kiritsugu gestured for him to enter the shed.

Shirou did as he was told, hesitantly. The sword didn't feel heavy, in fact, it felt rather... _comfortable_ , for lack of a better term, in his hands.

"Where did you bought it, dad?"

"Well, I just found it in Internet," Kiritsugu smiled awkwardly at him. "However, I used some old contacts to put an slight enchantment on it. You can store Magical Energy on it, and use it however you want."

"...That's cool and all but...How am I supposed to save Magical Energy on it if you didn't teach me how?" Shirou gave the older Emiya a deadpan.

"Ah, that. Given how stubborn you are about me teaching you Magecraft, I decided to teach you the basics, including how to use this sword."

Shirou's eyes lightened at that.

"Really?! Thanks dad you're the best!" Shirou jumped to his father, and gave him a tight hug.

"Yeah, yeah," Kiritsugu put a hand on the boy's head. "Can you let this old man go? This body of mine isn't the same it used to be when I was a youngster like you."

"Hmm," Shirou put a thoughtful expression, only to dissappear it almost immediately in favor of an amused smirk. "No." And then hugged Kiritsugu tighter.

Kiritsugu coughed in his hand. "Heh, as tomorrow is Sunday and you don't have school, we'll start after your birthday party. Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah!"

Tomorrow would be a good day...Still, why did Shirou feel as if he was forgetting something?

 _(Scene Break)_

"Idiot..." Rin said after recalling the events at school with that particular 'magus-yet-non-magus' boy...He should be showing up tomorrow if he knew what was good for him.

Of course, the idiot didn't know.

 _(Scene Break)_

At next day, the first thing Shirou did after waking up at three in the morning as usual was doing his exercise routine. However, this time it was a bit different.

Using his new gift, he went through all the basic kendo stances that Fuji-nee had showed him in the past. They were crappy at best, as he lacked any true knowledge in swordsmanship he just limited to copy what little he could remember.

He parried, stabbed, blocked and slashed. He repeated them for more than an hour, when he thought of them as 'acceptable'. Of course, he knew that any swordsman worth their salt would kick his ass in less than twenty seconds, but he would think in a way to fix that later.

 _'Avenger?'_

 _'Yeah?'_

 _'Can you do what you did with that weird worm yesterday?'_

 _'Ya mean, opening your Circuits?'_

 _'Err, yes'_

 _'Sure, why not?'_ Shirou could virtually _feel_ the guy shrugging.

The same sensation of before. Shirou felt as _something_ traveled through his body, strengthening him, making him feel stronger, faster, and much more durable. He didn't question it. The feeling of power _somehow_ felt good, as if it was _right_ for him to be strong. He didn't understand it, after all he was using his Magic Circuits without receiving prior instruction in how to do it, heck, it was quite the surprise to Avenger that the kid had Circuits to begin with. And twenty-seven mid quality ones, at that. Many Magus families would kill for having such a heir. While the quality was slightly above average at best, very few families had heirs with over 20 Circuits.

All in all, the kid would probably do while not an incredibly powerful, a certainly worth mentioning Magus...

...Or at least that's what it would be if he didn't have a part of a Heroic Spirit fused with his soul.

Normally, such a thing would kill the host almost immediately, only insanely well-made homunculi would have chances of surviving, and yet the boy had not only survived, but he also showed the ability to borrow Avenger's powers.

While he was certainly the weakest person in the Throne of Heroes, a Heroic Spirit is still a Heroic Spirit. Supreme beings that surpass human comprehension...If the kid discovered how to use his powers at the 100%, Avenger doubted that any human Magus could keep up with him.

Back to Shirou, he intended to do something risky, something he just couldn't tell if it would work.

He picked up his katana with one hand, and put the other over the blade, touching it. He channeled that weird energy on the sword, curious at what would happen...He was fairly surprised when it didn't blow up on his face. After watching so much anime in which the protagonist usually screw things and they end exploding, he half expected that.

Blushing a bit, he examined the blade. It seemed to be stronger, but that wasn't all. It's whole precense was much ominous, as if it promised death. Shirou thought it was cool...Well, you can't blame him. After all, he was just a kid who had just done what could only be called 'magic' on his mind.

Of course, Avenger knew what the kid did, after all he felt as his powers were drained once more. What the kid did could be called a mix between some sort of reinforcement which also wasn't exactly reinforcement, it was more between the lines of making the blade 'fitting of a hero' due to his status as a Heroic Spirit. And the other thing he did...Avenger couldn't tell what it exactly was, but he knew that it had something to do with him being All The Evils of the World.

Avenger shrugged. Well, he certainly wouldn't be bored any time soon.

 _(Scene Break)_

Sakura Matou was having a weird day.

First, her 'grandfather' had told her that she wouldn't be going to 'train' in the next week, which was quite the surprise to her. However, what stunned her the most, was the fact that her 'grandfather' told her to: _'Go out and make friends_ ' His words, not hers.

She was currently walking in the shopping district, not being too sure of how she should _'make friends'._..And that's why she was starting awkwardly at the boy in front of her. He had messy red hair which fell down a bit over his back and face, covering his forehead completely. Obviously he didn't even bother in fixing it, and his eyes shone with a golden-like brown. L By his height and general complexion she supposed that he was a year older than her, maybe two at best.

He carried five grocery bags in each one of his hands. Unlike Sakura, who was struggling to carry the five she had with her both hands, he seemed not bothered in the slightest at the weight.

"Need some help with the bags?" He eventually asked, a confused look on his face while he looked at the purple haired girl staring at him.

"N-no." Sakura blushed.

"Whatever." The boy shrugged, and just resumed walking.

"Wait!" Sakura called, not realizing that she had done so after a few moments later. Maybe he should try to talk to this boy? To make friends she had to actually talk to someone first, right?

"Yeah?" He looked over his shoulder.

"...I-I think I'll need your help with the bags." She blushed even deeper. She had always been shy, especially when it comes to strangers.

"Sure." He proceeded to examine Sakura's bags. Having spotted which ones were the lighters, he picked up the three heavier ones and let the Sakura carry the rest.

"How can you do it?" Sakura finally found herself asking. While the boy certainly looked much more muscled than most kids of his age, he wasn't stupidly toned to the point of disbelief.

"Do what? Carry so many bags?"

Sakura nodded.

The boy shrugged. "Don't know." And he didn't elaborate after that.

"Where are we going, anyway?" He asked after five minutes of walking.

"My house."

He nodded halfheartly, as if his attention was somewhere else.

They finally stopped in front of a an imposing western-style manor. The boy gave an uninterested look at it, until he spoke.

"So, you live here," It wasn't a question, more of an statement. Sakura moved her head in a gesture of 'Yes' nonetheless. "Nice house, but I guess that it isn't exactly my cup of tea." He shrugged once more, and indicated her to open the doors to leave the bags.

When she was about to open them, he realized something. She wasn't carrying her keys. Did she leave them at home? She would have to knock the door if that was the case.

Sakura did exactly that, and after a few moments a boy, more or less of the same age of the redhead's opened it. He had blue hair which fell down his face and equal blue eyes, a gentle expression on his face. This was Shinji Matou, Sakura's adoptive brother.

"Oh, it's you Sakura," He acknowledged her. "Who is your friend?"

When she was about to answer, Sakura realized that she didn't know. She didn't even ask this boy's name. She felt really embarrasse then, as her face went red and she tried to hide it with her hair.

Both Shinji and the redhead sighed.

"I'm Shirou Emiya, nice to meet you." The now named Shirou put the bags in the ground and extended his hand towards Sakura's brother.

"Nice to meet you too, Emiya-kun. I'm Shinji Matou, and she is my sister, Sakura...She's a bit shy, though. So excuse her if she refuses to talk" Shinji shook Emiya-san's hand while grinning.

"No problem, I already realized that," Emiya-san returned the grin. "You okay Sakura-san? I'd you're that red then you probably are sick. Do you want me to call for an ambulance?" He titled his head to the side, and Shinji chuckled at that.

"She's fine Emiya-kun. Now, we should be entering those bags."

 _(Scene Break)_

After leaving Sakura-san's groceries in her house, Shirou picked his bags, waved goodbye and left.

 _'Wow, I would have never thought that you would go down the harem path. Nice move, kiddo.'_ Said Avenger. After being quiet for so long in the day Shirou had supposed that the guy was entertained with something.

 _'What do you mean?'_

 _'C'mon! You can't be so oblivious, lad. She is obviously dying for you!'_

 _'What?! No!'_

 _'No? And then why did she blush so intensely? Heck, why did you even help her to begin with?! You couldn't have done that without having her falling for you, right?!...Tell me that I'm right or I swear that I'm seriously going to kill myself, and probably taking you with me in the process.'_

 _'Try if you want, you would do me a favor.'_

 _'Oh fuck you!'_

 _'Fuck you too, Avenger.'_

After a few moments of silence they both started laughing. This kind of things was common between them. While Shirou was certainly too young to know the quantity of insults knew and actually said on a daily basis, after having been exposed to Avenger for now three years he picked a bad habit or two.

"Emiya-kun?" A voice called from behind.

He turned and saw someone who he wasn't expecting to see. Rin Tohsaka was standing behind him.

"Oh, hi there Tohsaka. Are you still sick?"

"What?! Of course not!" She blushed once more, but this time more because anger than embarrassment.

"Yep, you're still sick. Go to the doctor, damn it! See ya later Tohsaka!" Shirou continued running with the bags in his hands, ignoring Rin's protests and...Death threats?

 _'Ohh, and one of your future wives is a Tsundere, at that. See how life isn't any different from an anime?'_

 _'You aren't helping, Avenger.'_ Shirou deadpanned

 _'I know~'_

 ** _XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_**

AN: Hey, did you thought I was dead? Well, you were wrong! I haven't killed myself!...Yet.

Anyway, here I am, with a chapter a bit longer than usual. Life is being cruel lately, so I didn't have many time to write. Those of you who follow me on Twitter (You can find me as @Shironak1 by the way, someone already took my name so I added the '1') might notice that while I'm rather active there, I do it just for time to time or when it's already late and I don't have anything else to do. I have a busy every day, so I check my Twitter when I'm not in the mood to /can't write (Or do pretty much anything else) yet I have nothing better to do. If you're interested in seeing that I'm still alive you have my stupid tweets as an option.

Oh, I also made a Forum in this website where you can ask me whatever you want, or discuss about my fics. I promise I'll reply as fast as I can.

And, The Crimson Saber is currently under a rewrite. I've gained some experience in writing since I wrote the first chapters, so I feel they need to be updated to my current level. Also, a few plot holes (Like, Shirou's fight with Diarmuid) will be fixed.

And yes, Avenger is a fucking weeaboo. That will give a lot of material for comedy, and somehow it still feels in-character. While Shirou picked up bad habits from Avenger, Avenger did the same from anime. It was a just too funny idea to not make it true.

Aside from that and the fact that I'm still needing a Beta, I have nothing more to say.

See ya guys!


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